Olympus 17mm f/1.8 Announced - $499 Price - Reviewed by Pekka Potka and Robin Wong

Amin Sabet · #1 November 15th, 2012, 06:44 AM

The Olympus 17mm f/1.8 has been officially announced and is available for pre-order for $499 from B&H Photo with expected availability in December.

Robin Wong and Pekka Potka have both published their reviews:

Here's how I would summarize the qualities of this lens based on available samples and reviews:

Premium construction and snapshot focus like the M. Zuiko 12mm f/2 lens
Very similar MTF curves to M. Zuiko 12mm f/2 lens
Fast and essentially silent AF
Good but not superior sharpness across the frame - slightly behind the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 in terms of center sharpness
Very well controlled axial CA - meaning very little purple fringing compared to most fast wides (including the Panasonic 14mm and 20mm primes) and minimal green bokeh fringing
Mild-moderate lateral CA - meaning some red/cyan color fringing in high contrast areas in the periphery of the frame
Very pleasing bokeh character (subjective/opinion)
Probably field curvature, optimized for medium-far working distances, thus giving poorer edge sharpness at close range with flat targets
Significant barrel distortion which will be a non-issue for most people since it is automatically addressed in camera and by leading RAW processing apps

As before, my impression is that landscape shooters looking for edge to edge superior resolution will be disappointed in this lens. For the rest of us, it seems to strike a very nice balance between size, weight, build, AF, sharpness, bokeh rendering, price, and lens speed.

Direct link to pre-order: Olympus 17mm f/1.8 M.ZUIKO Wide-Angle Lens for Micro

Mellow · #2 November 15th, 2012, 07:17 AM

I really like these reviews because they're not just focused on resolution charts, etc. Seems like a winner to me, and I think they've priced it about right.

I was curious, so I looked up the price history of Olympus' other recent offerings: the 45mm, 12mm, 75mm, and 60mm. The 45mm is the oldest of the bunch and can now be had for about 80% of its list price (new, on eBay); the rest are at or near list price, even on eBay from a foreign vendor. My conclusion is that if you want this lens you might as well get it now, because I don't think it's going to get appreciably cheaper in the near future.

yekimrd · #3 November 15th, 2012, 07:18 AM

I already posted my pre-order through the above link. It's just too shiny and the 20/1.7 just hunts sometimes at night. So if what they say is true that the 2 are practically the same, I'd go with the 17/1.8. I'll be posting the wifey's 20/1.7 up for sale soon.

kicsrepins · #4 November 15th, 2012, 07:28 AM

@Mellow and @yekimrd guys this is what I want to hear to persuade myself to purchase one! lol

Amin Sabet · #5 November 15th, 2012, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yekimrd

I already posted my pre-order through the above link. It's just too shiny and the 20/1.7 just hunts sometimes at night. So if what they say is true that the 2 are practically the same, I'd go with the 17/1.8. I'll be posting the wifey's 20/1.7 up for sale soon.

I did the same - saved my wife the trouble of getting me a gift this Christmas

.

Bokeaji · #6 November 15th, 2012, 08:29 AM

It will be miiiiiiiiiiine!

- Eliot@Austin, TX

demiro · #7 November 15th, 2012, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yekimrd

I already posted my pre-order through the above link. It's just too shiny and the 20/1.7 just hunts sometimes at night. So if what they say is true that the 2 are practically the same, I'd go with the 17/1.8. I'll be posting the wifey's 20/1.7 up for sale soon.

I'm expecting to see more than a few 20s hit the Classifieds based on the 17/1.8. Looks like a great lens at a reasonable price.

mrjr · #8 November 15th, 2012, 09:12 AM

Well, I just preordered it from B&H! Here's hoping for an *early* December release. This wait is going to kill me.

dav1dz · #9 November 15th, 2012, 09:44 AM

I'm going to try not to cave until after the holidays.

Promit · #10 November 15th, 2012, 09:48 AM

D'oh. I was kind of hoping it'd be expensive enough to skip. But no, at 500 I am buying it, though I am going to wait for somewhere else to list it, hopefully Amazon.